Heroes and Legends: African-American Identity in Graphic Novels and Comic Books

Abstract

This thesis compares the short stories of Richard Wright in Uncle Tom’s Children and Alice Walker’s The Third Life of Grange Copeland with Rep. John Lewis and Andrew Ayden’s graphic novel March: Book I, Max Brooks’s Harlem Hellfighters, and Dwayne McDuffie’s comic book collections “Icon: Mothership Connection” and “Icon: A Hero’s Welcome.” The comparison will show the ability of graphic narratives to contribute to the broader discussion of racial identity while highlighting the similarities between the examples. This thesis sheds light on the graphic narrative genre as a staple in the identity of many black Americans.